Originally posted by sportbuddha
View Post
Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
Comments Thread For: Hearn: Joshua is Fighting in The UK, The Ball in Wilder's Court
Collapse
-
Originally posted by sportbuddha View PostSo, what's wrong with AJ choosing to whatever he wants? Put yourself in AJ's shoes, he's already made enough money he never has to fight again. He has already become one of the fastest (least fights) unified HW champs in history. He has adoring fans on his doorstep, he's very very famous in his own country, front page news, not buried in the back pages and on lifestyle TV, he's mainstream in the UK.
If I was AJ I'd call the shots, no one is stripping me unless I avoid my mandatories, the only people calling me names are a bunch of Americans whose opinion doesn't really matter to me, I still make $15m+ in my next fight against whoever helps me keep my belts.
Americans constantly say, 'yeah but he could make $50m instead of $15m'...but you can apply the same logic to Wilder travelling to the UK, he'd make a ton more travelling than he ever has before. There isn't a here or villain in all this.
Comment
-
Originally posted by Stinger1 View PostSeriously, who gives a **** about the live gate? If the fans want to sit in row z then let them. The reason for fighting in a stadium is to give the normal guy on the street the opportunity to see a historic fight rather than that opportunity only being available to Vegas VIP's.Originally posted by Holler View PostWhat you're missing is that the stadium gives ordinary working class people a chance to see their guy fight! If AJ fought in an arena, say the O2, then either the tickets would costs far in excess of what average fans could afford, or the touts would make a killing and again, only the very rich could attend.
Boxing is largely a working class sport here in the UK and it's important that the people who helped these boxers get to where they currently are aren't cut out just as they get successful.
So people can compare gates and find that yes, 10,000 high rollers in Vegas can generate more funds than 90k in a stadium in London, but that's only part of the story.
And yes, the view will suck and you'll watch it on the big screen. That's the same if you want to watch the Rolling Stones. The point is being there, alongside thousands of others and enjoying the atmosphere, which will be streets ahead of that Vegas crowd, some of whom will only be there because a conference was in town that weekend and some guy they're doing business with got them a ticket.
Comment
-
Originally posted by boliodogs View PostWilder has said many times in the past that he would be willing to go to the UK to fight AJ. Everything else is settled. The only thing stopping the fight from happening is where the fight takes place. If Wilder really wants to fight AJ as badly as he claims he should fight him in the UK. AJ is obviously not going to fight Wilder in the USA. The ball really is in Wilder's court. He can go to the UK and try to take AJ's belts or stay home and continue to be the WBC champion only. If Wilder does fight AJ in the UK he should demand a neutral referee. Judges probably won't matter in a fight so unlikely to go the full 12 rounds.
Comment
-
Originally posted by hitking View PostI’m far from rich. But, I attend a couple fights a year. And for me, that means I have to travel. Because boxing isn’t popular where I’m from. And if I’m a hop a plane, pay for a hotel, and fork out all the bread that it costs to spend a weekend in a big city on a fight weekend. I damn sure ain’t gonna be sitting somewhere in the arena that requires me to watch the fight on a big screen. I got a several big screens in my house that I can watch it on for a helluva lot cheaper. And I can watch those without several drunken idiots around me annoying me.
I'm not suggesting you start attending stadium fights, just pointing out that there's more factors involved than the total gate they generate.
Comment
-
Originally posted by alexjust View PostMaybe there is something you don't understand when you present boxing to be a nicely tucked niche sport only the true aficionados of boxing know of. It is laughable. And even if we imagine that it is like that today in the HW division, that is not because this is a typical boxing culture in the US like you are trying to insinuate, but because Wilder is just unknown.
I bet that GGG is more known to an average Joe from the street than Wilder. Conduct the poll and put your "niche" ideas to the test.
Comment
-
Originally posted by OldTerry View PostYour right! The name of the boxing game today seems to be to maximize revenue while minimizing risks. That doesn't sit to well with the die hard boxing fan side of me but the business man in me understands.
Comment
-
Originally posted by Holler View PostI'd be interested in seeing you explain exactly how Wilder, who made approx $2m in his last fight is taking a pay cut to fight Anthony Joshua? Being that he's already turned down a guaranteed $12.5m and is currently sitting on a better offer?
You may argue that Wilder would make more if the fight was in the US, but the possibility of earning more is not the same as being asked to take a pay cut? The reality is that this fight will make Wilder many, many times more than he's ever seen before. That's primarily because of the profile of his opponent and the multiple belts he brings to the table.
If AJ gives him a fight Wilder gets a massive, massive, pay rise. Fact.
Comment
-
Originally posted by OldTerry View PostWe Americans know how you rowdy drunken British fools like to fight - ten guys against one. By the way in America we play real football and not sissy soccer.
Comment
Comment